IBM Israel Research Seminars

Since the dawn of human civilization, storytelling has been used to convey information. Even in the high tech world of today, storytelling could be used together with technology to effectively convey information, solicit information and tacit knowledge, help in making cultural change, and assist in education and providing lessons learned.

We are engaged in investigating and applying pertinent methods of storytelling.
The challenge is to present the multitude of fast information streams bombarding the various echelons in an efficient way. This information needs to be presented in a timely and efficient way. We have explored the effective use of storytelling techniques, used in narrative (plain words), film, comics and narrative, in computer-based visualization and information presentation.

In presenting information to decision makers, the challenge is to make this knowledge accessible to busy, senior decision makers who did not participate in its production in a way that will improve their understanding of the situation and potential scenarios. This requires providing an experience that is persuasive, memorable, meaningful, and efficient. Traditional approaches—written reports and point papers and oral briefings (e.g., chart style)—too often fall far short of the mark. Stories seem likely to provide the framework for such an experience, deeply rooted as they are in human communication, understanding, and memory.

Nahum D. Gershon, The MITRE Corporation, +1 703-883-7518, gershon@mitre.org

Nahum D. Gershon is a Senior Principal Scientist at The MITRE Corp. His work is concerned with data and information visualization, storytelling and its application to information capture and dissemination, Web browsers, image processing, information and data organization, and analysis of medical, environmental, and other multidimensional data. He pursues research in the use of understanding of the perceptual system in improving the visualization process, story telling, and dealing with information. Nahum was a Co-Chair of the IEEE Visualization Conferences in 1994-1995 and co-organized the Information Visualization Symposia in 1995-2001. He is the Chair of the Task Force on Human Centered Information Systems and the Interactive Technology Initiative (both of the IEEE Computer Society), a Member of the Advisory Panel of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), an Ex Officio Member of the US National Research Council's CODATA Committee, and a Member at Large of the NATO Panel on Human Factors and Medicine. He was a Member of the Focus Group on Visualization and Presentation of the White House's GLOBE Program. Nahum has had many national and international speaking engagements and has published extensively in large-circulation trade publications and magazines and in refereed journals.